Care Leavers

You are eligible for the Care Leavers Package if you are under 25 and have been ‘in care’ with any local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14. However this is not a hard-and-fast rule and any student with a care background may apply. The University’s Review Panel will consider each application on a case by case basis.

This package includes:

• A Care Leavers Bursary – for details of this bursary see our Financial Support Package page.
• The offer of university accommodation 365 days a year, charged at the current rate (subject to campus accommodation requests being received by our Accommodation Office by 31 May), so you can settle and stay in halls throughout your time at university.
• A named Student Wellbeing Adviser to speak to, if you wish, during your studies.
• Support from the Care Leavers Coordinator, who will be a central point of contact for advice and information.
• Advice and guidance during the admissions process and throughout your course.
• Assistance with accommodation enquiries. Contact us so we can link your queries with your application for support before emailing your accommodation queries to accommodation@chi.ac.uk.
• Access to Student Support and Wellbeing Services, including: health and wellbeing, money advice, disability and dyslexia services, and our Chaplaincy.

1. If you have been in local authority care, then please tell us on your UCAS application, or via an alternative entry route. We will forward your details to our Care Leavers Coordinator.
2. We will then ask you for some information relating to your time in care and permission to contact the relevant local authority.
3. Once this is received your application for the Care Leavers Package will go before our Care Leavers Review Panel who will consider such applications on an individual basis. If successful you will be offered all elements of the package, each of which is optional.

You may also email clc@chi.ac.uk for the application form

We work in line with current data protection legislation so all communication with our Care Leavers Coordinator and CLC Team is strictly confidential. We will, however, ask whether we can share this information (by means of a disclosure form), for example with our finance and accommodation offices. If you have any questions about this you can always discuss this with our Care Leavers Coordinator.

A discreet email address (clc@chi.ac.uk) has been set up for communication between any students and our Care Leavers Coordinator, and students will also be given the name of a Student Advisor who has a designated role of working confidentially with any of our students.